The gender division of labour: The case of Tuscan smallholders

This article addresses three explanations of the gender division of labour- industrialization, rational choice theory, and Szelenyi's theory of stratif ication-by examining single-person households, usually widows and widowers, in rural Tuscany. The men tended to engage in the production of both marke t and subsistence crops, while the women tended to specialize in the produc tion of market crops. The Szelenyian perspective best explains these findin gs, because it predicts that women, who are disadvantaged economically, wou ld have been more likely to engage in market activities in this type of eco nomy, where markets existed but were not the primary form of economic integ ration.